More from the first few weeks in the mission field...

I'm falling behind again. In this post I will update with info from letters and emails from Tyler's first few weeks in the mission field. He has also sent pictures too. We've got the obligatory map picture from the MTC, Elder Wright in the kitchen of the shack and a view of the front yard of the shack.


From letter written on 11/10 which was his first P-Day in Phoenix: The last week has been long. It was good but long. I was up until 11:30 packing my last night in the MTC and then was up at 4:15 the next day.

As we got off the plane in Phoenix the departing missionaries were waiting at our gate. We talked a bit and then we left and went to meet President Beck and his wife. For my first meal outside the MTC we had a sloppy joe sandwich. We then had meetings, orientation and more meetings and then an interview with President Beck. For dinner we had lasagna and then another meeting. We were able to go to bed an hour early. The favorite people I met so far were the Spanish APs.

The next morning we got up and had breakfast. We then had another meeting and then went to the transfer building where we met our trainers. We worked some and unpacked some at the shack and then went to my first field dinner. We had tostadas and tamales all freshly made and it was super good. Before dinner we helped tutor the kids and we have done it a few times since. These kids only speak Spanish so it's good practice. I was so tired that first day that I fell asleep while writing in my journal.

We have one lady on date for baptism named Bricedia and a couple of good solid investigators that we are teaching. On Sunday I found out the problem is getting them to church. We had 12 committed and only one came -- not a good percentage. Any suggestions from anyone on how to change this?

We were checking up on a referral the other day and this guy came to the door and asked if we could come back later. He looked at us in our short sleeve shirt and asked, "Aren't you cold?" It was 74 degrees outside.

We now cover only the Spanish Ward so church is interesting since it's only in Spanish. I hope to get used to it sooner rather than later.

A few days ago we got a referral and we went to contact them. It turns out that when we showed up they had just been talking about the LDS Church. They wanted to know who had sent the referral because they hadn't requested it themselves but they were very receptive. It's a married couple and her 2 brothers and her mother. We are going to drive by on Sunday and then they are going to follow us to church. I'm super excited!

Last night we were tracting as part of the zone blitz where all of the elders in the zone try and find investigators in one area for the local missionaries. We met a 16 year old boy who was very excited when we told him about the Book of Mormon. He was like, "Hey Mom, Look! It's a Book of Mormon" He was like a kid on Christmas morning.

That's all for now. If you have any questions, just ask. Take care. The work is good and I love working hard for the Lord.

Love, Elder Holden

P.S. I just counted the weeks and I think I'll be home September 6, 2011.

Good People, Good Food

Elder Holden's first week in the mission field has ended. He sent a short email on Tuesday and said he'd send a letter which we will probably get in the next few days. Normally, his P-Day will be Wednesday but since this past Wednesday was a holiday they had it on Tuesday. I felt badly because I had intended to send him a nice e-mail for him to read on his first P-Day in Phoenix but I hadn't sent it yet not realizing that his P-Day was going to be a day early.

He is living what's referred to by the missionaries as "The Shack". I've included pictures of The Shack and the shower which is located in the backyard. I've borrowed these pictures from Elder Klemme's blog: http://elderandrewbklemme.blogspot.com/

We also received a letter from President Beck with pictures of Tyler with President and Sister Beck and with his new companion, Elder Wright.

Hope things are well for everyone there. The mission field is great! I'm in the ghetto area of south Phoenix and it's pretty cool.

I met Elder Alling on transfer day and he went up to Prescott. I got his old trainer, Elder Wright and I like him a lot. We stay at a different place then Elder Alling and Elder Wright did. We stay at The Shack. There are 4 Spanish Elders staying here and we all cover the Montana del Sur Ward. They brought in a new (for this area) set of missionaries to cover the 2 English wards so we only cover the Spanish Ward now. Elder Klemme who we met at the sign the day I entered the MTC is in The Shack with me.

I have to admit the first couple days here seemed like they were never going to end. The members here are really nice and the food is great. The language will OK but it will improve. It seems like they speak a different language than we learned in the MTC. I will write a letter tomorrow with a bunch of experiences in it. Love, Elder Holden

Travel Day to Phoenix

Tyler called from the airport early on Tuesday morning and we got to talk for about 20 minutes. He sounded like he was in good spirits and eager to get into the mission field. He said it was weird to be out in the world again after spending 9 weeks in the MTC.

I talked to him a little in Spanish and was very impressed how much he has learned.

I tried to get him to unload some of his stuff and send it to a place there in Utah for my sister to pick up but he insisted on packing and taking everything with him. He said his luggage weighed in at 47 and 50 pounds. He also said the packages I sent him were popular with his district and that he was taking a lot of the left over candy and other treats to Phoenix with him. I'm still trying to figure out how there were leftovers!

He said when he went to weigh in luggage the night before to make sure he was going to be OK with luggage weights he weighed himself. He had lost 19 pounds while in the MTC. I wonder if that's a record?

I do remember when we went to Arizona on vacation this past summer Tyler hardly ate anything the week we were there. He kept saying it's too hot to eat. Hopefully, he doesn't loose much more or we are going to have to get him some new pants and maybe a suit too.

On Wednesday afternoon the mission president, President Beck, called to let us know that Tyler had made it safely to Arizona and had been assigned to his first area. He will be serving in the the south Phoenix area in the Montana del Sur area. He will be covering one English ward and one Spanish ward. The Spanish ward is the largest in the mission so that will be really helpful for improving Tyler's Spanish.

Coincidenlty, he is taking Elder Alling's http://www.theallings.com/elderalling/ place who was transferred this week and his trainer is the same that Elder Alling had - Elder Wright. I have been following Elder Alling's blog the past few months so it's exciting to know so much about the area where Tyler will be serving.

Sister Beck posted a few pictures of the arriving Elders on her blog: http://calledtoservephoenix.blogspot.com/

I Am Ready To Go

Tyler will be leaving the MTC bright and early tomorrow morning. We are looking forward to him calling us from the airport. We got a letter from him today and this will probably be his last letter from the MTC. I think it will be at least a week before we hear from him once he gets down there so we won't know where he's been assigned for awhile. He's ready to go and while he says his Spanish still needs some help but he's ready to enter the mission field!

Here's what he had to say in last week's email and letter:

This week has gone by fast. Not much has happened. We had our last "normal" Sunday (meaning his last Sunday that wasn't Fast Sunday). The best part is we have our flight plans. I leave on Tuesday, November 3rd. I have to be at the travel office at 5 AM and my flight leaves at 8:37 I sent a copy of the flight plans home on Monday so you should get it soon.

Elder Perry came to speak yesterday. Nothing really new and no stories to share this week. I am ready to go. I can't wait to leave and neither can the rest of my district.

I will send a letter as soon as I can when I get to Arizona and I'm looking forward to calling from the airport.

Love,
Elder Tyler Holden